Nurses resolve Bill 29 dispute with government and employers
Agreement involves compensation, education, adjustment options for displaced nurses, potential recognition of lost seniority
The Nurses' Bargaining Association (NBA) is pleased with an agreement reached with health employers and the provincial government to settle the long-standing dispute over Bill 29, the "Health Care and Social Services Delivery Improvement Act".
The agreement is in response to last June's decision of the Supreme Court of Canada ruling that the government had violated the Charter of Rights when they passed legislation changing collective agreements without negotiating with the unions representing the affected employees.
The agreement provides a new process of dialogue and consultation between the provincial government, the nurses' unions and the health authorities. It also provides a fund to compensate nurses who were directly affected by Bill 29, and for clinical education of nurses, for upgrading, and specialty education.
In reaching the agreement, BC Nurses' Union president Debra McPherson paid particular tribute to Lee Doney, special advisor to the Premier. "We knew the government was serious about reaching an agreement when Lee Doney arrived to negotiate. He added honesty and credibility to the negotiating process."
The government also committed to continue working on ways to resolve the nursing shortage.
A letter commits the government to work toward a three-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and toward the mitigation of tuition costs, as well as an assessment service for internationally-educated nurses which has already been established.
"Excessive workload continues to be the major problem for working nurses and it needs to be resolved," says McPherson, who heads the largest union in the NBA. "Increasing the supply of nurses is one of the positive ways to improve patient care and excessive workload."
The BC Nurses' Union Council has voted to accept the agreement. The two other unions in the Nurses' Bargaining Association (Union of Psychiatric Nurses and Health Sciences Association) are expected to follow shortly. |
